Rockies: Hey, we aren't the angels

'Christian-based code of conduct' disputed

Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 1, 2006 at midnight

Text size  

• 0 Comments
• Email
• Print

SAN DIEGO - Colorado Rockies players and management say the team enjoys a healthy, positive attitude in its clubhouse but is anything but a bunch of choirboys.

"We look for players with character and ability," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said Wednesday, the day a USA Today cover story portrayed the organization as being built around "a Christian-based code of conduct."

"Ability is part of it," O'Dowd said. "I have neighbors who are good people, but they can't hit a 95-mile-per-hour fastball or throw a 92-mile-per-hour sinker."

Rockies players and officials said they weren't comfortable with the national newspaper's characterization of the team.

"Character is nondenominational," O'Dowd said.

With the Rockies having been one of the surprise teams in the opening months of the 2006 season, they have started to draw attention from out-of-town media trying to explain the turnaround in a franchise that has suffered five consecutive losing seasons and has not finished higher than fourth place in the National League West in the past eight years.

The USA Today article claimed there were no male magazines in the clubhouse, no risque music and rare instances of cursing - a portrayal that was a bit "over the top," in the opinion of Rockies players.

"I get Maxim (a men's magazine) sent to me in the mail in the clubhouse," first baseman Todd Helton said. "Everybody is at a different place in life. We have guys from all over the world (United States, Canada, Taiwan, Korea, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela). I've been here nine years. It's about the same mix of people, but we have good guys."

Helton said his Christian beliefs are not built around athletics.

"I don't try to be a Christian to be a better baseball player," he said. "I try to be a Christian to be a better person and father. I struggle with it every day, like everyone else in the world. I want to be a better person, like everybody else.

"The story was overblown. I'm not sure what the guy was trying to do. We have good guys who show up every day to play hard and win.

"We're dirtbags, like 99 percent of the world. Maybe worse, because we are baseball players. Some guys are Christians and some guys aren't."

Pitcher Jason Jennings was a first-round draft choice by the Rockies in 1997 from Baylor University, the largest Baptist university in the world. He has strong religious convictions but believes the tone of the story was not a proper view of the atmosphere in the Rockies clubhouse.

"I thought the story was over the top," he said. "I have strong beliefs, but I don't judge others and I never will. My opinion is we look for good character guys, not Christian guys. A good teammate doesn't have to have the same beliefs you have. A good teammate is a good person who plays to win."

Third baseman Garrett Atkins agreed.

"I don't think being part of this team has anything to do with faith or belief," he said. "I believe it has to do with the quality of the individual as a person and player. If you happen to be a Christian, that's fine."

Helton said he was upset by the story's negative portrayal of former Rockies pitcher Denny Neagle, who was released by the team before the 2005 season in the aftermath of solicitation charges.

"I'm tired of blaming Denny Neagle for everything that has gone wrong here," Helton said. "Every time he was healthy, he tried his best to win."

Manager Clint Hurdle said the fact that he, O'Dowd and team president Kelli McGregor have strong Christian beliefs makes for good working conditions.

He does not, however, believe religion is an issue in player decisions.

"First and foremost, we talk about character, accountability and responsibility," he said. "There are a lot of men in the game with great character and accountability who are not Christians. There are good players who don't have the character, aren't accountable and aren't responsible, but they are great players. I fell into that area at one time. I just was not a great player."

As a teenager, he adorned the cover of Sports Illustrated, proclaimed the top phenom in baseball, but he never reached the stardom predicted when he signed with Kansas City as a first-round draft choice.

Hurdle was considered a free spirit during his playing days, and he admits his lifestyle was a problem.

Thirteen years ago, he said, he became a Christian, but "I was a wandering Christian for some time. (It changed eight years ago,) about the time I stopped drinking. Those were two big steps for me."

He talks freely about his faith, but does not force the issue on others, particularly his players.

"I don't worry about what other people think of the stance I took," he said. "I don't flaunt my beliefs on a lot of things. If I am asked, I will give an answer. I stand up for my relationship with Christ."

ringolsbyt@RockyMountainNews.com

Featured

• 2008 Voter’s Guide

  

  Use our Ballot Builder tool to compare your viewpoints to the candidates.

• A Dozen on Denver

  

  Manuel Ramos' story is featured this week on 'A Dozen on Denver.' Check it out!

• Rocky Multimedia

  

  The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on today's events.

• Bronco Dean's rant

  

  Listen to Bronco Dean's totally biased pregame rant about the Broncos-Jaguars game.

• Presidential Elections

  

  See how Colorado counties have voted through the years.

• County election profiles

  

  A look at how residents in each Colorado county may vote.

• A dream fulfilled

  

  A Rocky Mountain News and MediaStorm production

• Latest from Dove Valley

  

  Click for more broncos videos.

• Sam Adams' Open Mic

  

  No. 44 means a lot to Floyd Little